Technical Field
The present invention relates to semiconductor processing, and more particularly to methods and devices that employ porous materials as a medium for addressing lattice mismatch between crystalline materials.
Description of the Related Art
Heteroepitaxy is the process of epitaxially growing one crystal on another. Since the crystal structures are usually different, issues can arise involving lattice mismatch between the different crystal structures. These differences are responsible for the formation of dislocation defects. Si wafers are preferred as a seed layer for growing other epitaxial films. Si is usually chosen due to cost-effectiveness considerations and due to its being a well-established material platform for thin film processing. Lattice mismatch between Si and other films induces dislocation-formation, which affects further fabrication and device performance.